Day 10 Sunday-
Sunday Sifan woke up tired & I had a bad headache. We both were a bit tired of one another and needed a break. Sifan wouldn’t listen to me and I was a bit impatient. Thankfully Gutu called to take me to the cinema. I left Sifan with Abinish (Ah BY nish) without any fuss; they were doing the coffee ceremony when I left. Gutu and I walked down to the market intersection where the minibuses are. We took a minibus to the Bole station and then another minibus to the Cinema. Gutu says that the cinema is run by 2 Americans. It was exactly what I needed missing home. We paid 30birr each ($3) to see The taking of Pelham 123. At the ticket counter you also pick your seats! So you don’t have to arrive early to get the ones you want. After we purchased our tickets we went to the Box Office Café and I tried to pick out some chocolate cake. I found a big piece for a dollar, but it didn’t taste like home….hard and not quite the same chocolate that I remember. I made Gutu eat it and he said it wasn’t very good in his opinion too. We had some great conversation about the differences between America and Ethiopia including the definition of cake…which should be spongy by the way. His English is excellent and it was nice to get away to some place that felt a little bit like home. We went into the theatre and they had the concession stand….popcorn was 2 birr (20 cents!!). I didn’t get any so we proceeded to the door and had to show the guard our tickets. He frisked us, checked my purse for a camera, and sent us in. They had stadium seating for about 100. The screen was smaller but the surround sound was good. The first preview was for some weird movie about a baby that bites people….bizarre…..then some normal ones,…then the preview for the horror film “Orphan”…..can we say awkward……..After that I had to go to the bathroom. So I excused myself and tried to ask the guard where the bathroom is…….no English……luckily someone coming out of the theatre knew what I was asking and showed me where to go. The movie was great! It was fabulous to get away. (I said that already huh…..homesick for sure). On the way out Gutu walked me through the Ethiopian version of Chuck-e-cheese. They had all types of arcade games…..I told him that this really felt like home. He reminded me that most people in Ethiopia cannot afford to take their kids there ever.
We walked a few miles to a place called the Old Milking Cow. It was down what seemed like an abandoned alley to a building that looked run down and there were a few doors missing on the first floor. Some kids were playing soccer around in the gravel. He forgot what floor it was on and asked a few people…..there were no signs. After no response we just got on the elevator and there was a small sign saying it was on the 10th floor. We entered a place much like a Texas roadhouse or something like it. It felt like home again. There was an incredible view from the 10th floor. I took a chance and ordered a Salad because I missed my daily salad so much and all of the fried food was upsetting my stomach. Gutu ordered a Coke even though I insisted that I would pay for his meal. We had a great time laughing about stuff……like his secret job for the Department of Defense as an undercover agent….I mean economist. He has a degree but said that working full time with only one degree can earn you about $100 a month. That is why he works many part time jobs on the side. He said it makes a person seem hopeless because you work so hard, you get an education but still cannot seem to obtain that “better life”. He says as an Ethiopian the only right you have as a citizen is to live in Ethiopia while in America and other nations the promise and security are so much more. I asked what his big dream would be and he said that you cannot dream big in Ethiopia there just are not that many opportunities…..just the hope that you can have a better life….maybe a TV…..or a car sometime. He really wants to go back to school to get another degree to get a better job but can’t afford the tuition. He said he was hoping to get a scholarship sometime to go back.
We talked about how adoptive parents’ reactions to their new children surprise him. He thinks that Americans are very compassionate…more than he is for sure. He saw me crying as I had to leave Sifan and said that the next day he was talking it over with his friend and just couldn’t understand it really….it is just a kid. He said he is surprised at how we treat our little ones like royalty. I tried to explain that many of us have been waiting a long time for a child and see them as a true gift. Maybe it was just the guy in his 20s talking.
After dinner we walked the town and he showed me different parts of Ethiopia. It really gave me a new view of Ethiopia. We probably walked 3-4 miles at night. It was GREAT. He helped me tell the people who regularly call my rental phone to stop calling me We finally walked to the Bole Minibus station and took a ride toward the guesthouse. It was a great night! Gutu promised to call me on Tuesday to see if Sifan and I would still be leaving. If not he said he would take me out again before I go.
When I got home Sifan was happy to see me and really tried to speak English for the first time. I really think she thinks I should learn to speak Oromo because the majority of the people here speak Oromo and I am the only one who speaks English exclusively so she really doesn’t even try to speak English very much….she just jabbers on and on in Oromo all day long.
Sunday Sifan woke up tired & I had a bad headache. We both were a bit tired of one another and needed a break. Sifan wouldn’t listen to me and I was a bit impatient. Thankfully Gutu called to take me to the cinema. I left Sifan with Abinish (Ah BY nish) without any fuss; they were doing the coffee ceremony when I left. Gutu and I walked down to the market intersection where the minibuses are. We took a minibus to the Bole station and then another minibus to the Cinema. Gutu says that the cinema is run by 2 Americans. It was exactly what I needed missing home. We paid 30birr each ($3) to see The taking of Pelham 123. At the ticket counter you also pick your seats! So you don’t have to arrive early to get the ones you want. After we purchased our tickets we went to the Box Office Café and I tried to pick out some chocolate cake. I found a big piece for a dollar, but it didn’t taste like home….hard and not quite the same chocolate that I remember. I made Gutu eat it and he said it wasn’t very good in his opinion too. We had some great conversation about the differences between America and Ethiopia including the definition of cake…which should be spongy by the way. His English is excellent and it was nice to get away to some place that felt a little bit like home. We went into the theatre and they had the concession stand….popcorn was 2 birr (20 cents!!). I didn’t get any so we proceeded to the door and had to show the guard our tickets. He frisked us, checked my purse for a camera, and sent us in. They had stadium seating for about 100. The screen was smaller but the surround sound was good. The first preview was for some weird movie about a baby that bites people….bizarre…..then some normal ones,…then the preview for the horror film “Orphan”…..can we say awkward……..After that I had to go to the bathroom. So I excused myself and tried to ask the guard where the bathroom is…….no English……luckily someone coming out of the theatre knew what I was asking and showed me where to go. The movie was great! It was fabulous to get away. (I said that already huh…..homesick for sure). On the way out Gutu walked me through the Ethiopian version of Chuck-e-cheese. They had all types of arcade games…..I told him that this really felt like home. He reminded me that most people in Ethiopia cannot afford to take their kids there ever.
We walked a few miles to a place called the Old Milking Cow. It was down what seemed like an abandoned alley to a building that looked run down and there were a few doors missing on the first floor. Some kids were playing soccer around in the gravel. He forgot what floor it was on and asked a few people…..there were no signs. After no response we just got on the elevator and there was a small sign saying it was on the 10th floor. We entered a place much like a Texas roadhouse or something like it. It felt like home again. There was an incredible view from the 10th floor. I took a chance and ordered a Salad because I missed my daily salad so much and all of the fried food was upsetting my stomach. Gutu ordered a Coke even though I insisted that I would pay for his meal. We had a great time laughing about stuff……like his secret job for the Department of Defense as an undercover agent….I mean economist. He has a degree but said that working full time with only one degree can earn you about $100 a month. That is why he works many part time jobs on the side. He said it makes a person seem hopeless because you work so hard, you get an education but still cannot seem to obtain that “better life”. He says as an Ethiopian the only right you have as a citizen is to live in Ethiopia while in America and other nations the promise and security are so much more. I asked what his big dream would be and he said that you cannot dream big in Ethiopia there just are not that many opportunities…..just the hope that you can have a better life….maybe a TV…..or a car sometime. He really wants to go back to school to get another degree to get a better job but can’t afford the tuition. He said he was hoping to get a scholarship sometime to go back.
We talked about how adoptive parents’ reactions to their new children surprise him. He thinks that Americans are very compassionate…more than he is for sure. He saw me crying as I had to leave Sifan and said that the next day he was talking it over with his friend and just couldn’t understand it really….it is just a kid. He said he is surprised at how we treat our little ones like royalty. I tried to explain that many of us have been waiting a long time for a child and see them as a true gift. Maybe it was just the guy in his 20s talking.
After dinner we walked the town and he showed me different parts of Ethiopia. It really gave me a new view of Ethiopia. We probably walked 3-4 miles at night. It was GREAT. He helped me tell the people who regularly call my rental phone to stop calling me We finally walked to the Bole Minibus station and took a ride toward the guesthouse. It was a great night! Gutu promised to call me on Tuesday to see if Sifan and I would still be leaving. If not he said he would take me out again before I go.
When I got home Sifan was happy to see me and really tried to speak English for the first time. I really think she thinks I should learn to speak Oromo because the majority of the people here speak Oromo and I am the only one who speaks English exclusively so she really doesn’t even try to speak English very much….she just jabbers on and on in Oromo all day long.
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